Study: Three pills better than one for heart disease patients

Combining three heart drugs to treat people with heart disease works better than any single one of the drugs, according to a new study in the British Medical Journal.

British researchers report that heart disease patients taking aspirin, a cholesterol-lowering statin, and a beta blocker designed to lower blood pressure live longer than patients taking just one of these medicines.

Among the 13,000 patients with heart disease studied by scientists at Nottingham University, those prescribed with the three-drug combination had an 83% lower risk of dying than patients prescribed only one of the drugs. Taking just one of the drugs resulted in a 20% or lower risk of death among the heart disease patients, according to the study.

Drug substitutions saved the government $13 million last year, but more drug substitutions under Medicare Part B would have saved an additional $6 million, the Office of Inspector General for Health and Human Services concluded in a recent report to Congress.